Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

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RICE REJECTS BEIJING'S DEMAND FOR ENDING U.S. ARMS SALES TO TAIWAN

Washington, July 9 (CNA) U.S. National Security Adviser
Condoleezza Rice has rebuffed mainland Chinese leaders' demands for
an end to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, the Washington Post reported
Friday.

The paper quoted an unidentified U.S. official as saying that
Rice also told senior mainland leaders that the Bush administration
was willing to help establish a dialogue between Beijing and
Taipei.

The official, who is traveling with Rice and spoke on condition
of anonymity, said Rice was not specific in the offer and told
mainland leaders only that the United States could take steps "to
further dialogue if it's helpful."

In the past, the paper said, the United States has rejected
suggestions that it assume a mediator's role in the sensitive dispute
between mainland China and Taiwan. But it has repeatedly urged both
sides to open talks and settle their differences peacefully.

The Washington Post said the dispute over Taiwan dominated Rice's
meetings on the first day of a two-day visit to Beijing that began
Thursday. She met with Jiang Zemin, mainland China's military chief
and former president, and Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing Thursday and
was scheduled to see President Hu Jintao and another senior foreign
policy official, Tang Jiaxuan, on Friday.

Mainland China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has threatened
to seize it by force if necessary, but Taiwan's newly reelected
president, Chen Shui-bian, says the island is an independent country.
The mainalnd Chinese military is planning large-scale exercises this
month involving joint sea, land and air operations on an island about
150 miles from Taiwan.

Rice's visit, her first to mainland China since she accompanied
President George W. Bush to Beijing in 2002, comes during what
appears to be an intensifying leadership struggle between Jiang and
Hu, which is complicating the ruling Communist Party's
decision-making on Taiwan and other issues, the Washington Post said.
Mainland Chinese officials have said Jiang was resisting pressure to
retire and has taken a hard-line position toward Taiwan to strengthen
his grip on power.